


Going, Going... Here

by megan_waffles



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Cartousa, F/M, Megan can't tag for shit, Nobody wants that, Peggy's going home, daniel's too awkward to live, especially not daniel or peggy, peggy's badassery keeps getting her hurt, season 2 finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 06:34:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6144719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megan_waffles/pseuds/megan_waffles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It took three seconds.</p><p>Whitney Frost was dead.</p><p>Jason Wilkes was gone.</p><p>The world was saved.</p><p>1... 2... 3.</p><p>Three seconds.</p><p>It took three seconds for her to leave."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Going, Going... Here

It took three seconds.

Whitney Frost was dead.

Jason Wilkes was gone.

The world was saved.

1... 2... 3.

Three seconds.

It took three seconds for her to leave.

 

Peggy had to go back. Her life was in New York. Her work was in New York. And Jack needed her. As far as she could tell, his attempt with Samberly's bomb wasn't to meet his own personal agenda. Jack had sincerely thought he was doing the right thing. Whitney Frost had been a danger to everyone, and Masters... well, there was nothing they could've done to stop him. Jack didn’t push the button, but without her there to stop him, there would’ve be a new crater in L.A.

This was Okinawa. Again. And now he was fine. But Peggy knew. She knew the spiral. One minute, and suddenly he's got a mad look in his eye and stops seeing white flags.

She was the only one who knew what had happened. She was the only one who could stop him from hitting self-destruct.

So after all the loose ends had been wrapped up and the curtains finally closed on yet another adventure of epic proportions, she went back to Howard's mansion to pack. She moved her bags to the door of her room and she turned around to look. She laughed. Ana had been mortified by her wound from the rebar, and she couldn't fathom why Peggy and Mr. Jarvis seemed to be joking about the matter.

And just the other day when Daniel, not knowing that she was about to change, followed her into the room before blushing furiously when he realized what she was doing.

Daniel...

That was one loose end she wasn't eager to wrap up before her departure. Between the chaos of the case and practically babying Jack, they still hadn't had time to talk about what happened. Or, what almost happened. If she could have it her way, she would pop into the office, pick up her things from her desk and her locker, and be on her way.

Maybe Peggy couldn't have her way, but she'd be damned if she didn't try.

Because it was bad enough she had to leave with a tormenting (but oh so precious) "what if". She didn't want to leave with her heart in pieces on the runway because her heart made her lean in, but he only did because of what Violet had said. Maybe once he had loved her. But he wasn't wrong. Three hours could feel like a lifetime.

Peggy borrowed a set of car keys from Mr. Jarvis and drove to the SSR at noon, knowing everyone would be at lunch. This way she at least lowered the possibility of running into anybody (Daniel) before she left.

Upon arriving at the SSR, she took Rose's and most of the agents' absence as a good sign that she would be to be written out of the L.A. bureau's books without a word. Box in hand, she grabbed her belongings off her desk.

Looking up, she saw that the door to Daniel's office door was closed and the blinds had been drawn down, and took it on good faith that he had left for lunch as well.

Once she emptied the now vacant desk, she headed to the locker room to grab the change of clothes she kept in her locker.

After how easy it had been to clean off her desk without any of the few people still in the office taking notice, Peggy expected to be in and out of the locker room in the blink of an eye.

She didn't expect her stitches to break (again!) when she tried to grab the heels on the top shelf of the locker.

 _Oh, blast it,_ she thought. _So much for in and out._

Undoing the buttons on the bloodied blouse, she walked towards the medical locker, and grabbed a role of gauze. “This will have to do,” she said under her breath.

Turning around to walk back towards her locker, the door opened, and Daniel walked in.

He opened his mouth to say something before noticing the gauze in her hand, the red patch blooming at her side, and her state of undress.

As all the blood rushed to his cheeks, Daniel averted his eyes and turned away.

“I- I’m sorry, Peggy,” he said, facing the door. “Santiago said he saw you come in here.”

Peggy ducked her head and smiled. She had always found it endearing how flustered he could get.

“It’s not a problem, Daniel. If anything, it’s a good thing you’re here.”

Daniel looked over his shoulder at her quizzically. Then, looking at the gauze in her hand, he said “Do you need me to patch you up?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“Alright,” he said, rolling up his sleeves. “Go sit on the bench. I’ll be there in a moment.”

Doing as he said, Peggy carefully lowered herself onto the bench, holding her ruined shirt to her side. She could hear Daniel washing his hands on the other side of the locker. When the water stopped, she looked up and saw him walking towards her with a suture kit in his free hand.

“On your back, Peggy. If I’m doing this, I’m damn well gonna do it right.” She huffed, but did just so.

He kicked a wooden crate over to her left side, sat down, and opened the bottle of disinfectant, focusing fiercely on her bleeding side and ignoring the rest of her torso. His blush returned softly, and Peggy bit her lip to stop a smile.

“Am I, uh, just doing the front,” he asked awkwardly. She nodded, her eyes fluttering shut with his feather-light touch on her stomach.

He worked in silence and Peggy, sporting more scars than most men in the SSR, let him stitch her back up without making a sound.

Minutes later, the piercing of the needle stopped and she heard the crate scrape against the floor. She opened her eyes to see Daniel standing over her with a shy expression and an outstretched hand.

“Up you get, Peg,” he said fondly. “I still need to wrap you up”.

She grabbed his hand and raised herself off the bench to stand in front of the lockers. Daniel then took her place, sitting on the bench with the gauze in his hand. She tentatively stepped towards him and stopped close enough for their knees to brush together with the smallest of movements.

Daniel lifted his hands up, and slowly wrapped the gauze around her waist. He looked up at her after wrapping it twice to make sure it wasn’t uncomfortably tight. “It’s fine,” she said breathlessly as his fingers continued their dance around her.

It was one thing to dream of Daniel holding her tight as they danced, but she decided she much rather preferred the feeling of his hands ghosting against her skin.

When he finished, he placed his shaking hands on her hips. “All patched up,” he said shakily, looking up at her. She placed her hands over his, relishing in his touch. Taking his hands more firmly in hers, she helped him to his feet. Even with her heels on, Peggy still found herself tilting her head back a bit to look him in the eye.

“Thank you, Daniel,” she said softly.

“Don’t worry about it.” His Adam’s apple bobbed.

She stood there, feeling his soft breath against her cheek. It was in moments like these, when the world was quiet, even just for a second, that Peggy thought that maybe she was wrong. He had loved her once. Maybe he still did.

Peggy was shaken from her trance when she felt Daniel squeeze her hands. With sadness in his eyes, he whispered one word: “Stay.”

Peggy dropped her gaze, hiding the pain his words caused. 

“I can’t, Daniel. I wish I could, more than anything. But I can’t. My life... it’s in New York. My work… everything.”

“But you could have a life here, at the SSR,” he said. _You could have a life here with me._

Peggy felt the tears forming in her eyes. “I have to go back. Besides, even if I wanted to stay, Jack would never let me.”

Daniel cleared his throat and looked down. He released her hands and reached behind him to grab her soft blue blouse from her half-packed box. “Go call him,” he said passing her the shirt. “I think you might be wrong.”

With a questioning glance, Peggy buttoned up the new shirt, and left Daniel in the locker room to go make a phone call.”

 

“Carter,” Jack sighed exasperatedly into the phone. “You’re being ridiculous. I will be fine! Nothing happened!”

“Jack, you know what I mean,” Peggy replied tersely. “I know you didn’t push the button! I know nothing happened! But you almost did, and I’m worried about you!”

There was silence of the New York chief’s end of the line.

“Jack, you didn’t push the button. But you almost did. And I shouldn’t have to remind you of what happened last time.”

“Look, Peggy,” Jack sighed tiredly. “I know you’re worried. If I had blown up the building, then, yeah, it would be Okinawa all over again. But it’s not. You stopped me before it could become that.

“I know you want to stay where you are. As difficult as this case has been, this is the happiest I’ve seen you in a while. And you and I both know why. So stay. Sousa obviously wants you out there, or else he wouldn’t have called me asking if I would allow you to transfer. And to be honest, Carter, as long as the SSR isn’t losing you, I don’t really care where you are. And I promise you, if it gets bad, I’ll call.”

Peggy held the phone to her ear. She couldn’t imagine working anywhere but New York. But the thought of losing Daniel again was unbearable.

Besides, if she stayed, she could spend more time with the Jarvis’ and Howard. Rose was here, too. And the SSR. She wasn’t quitting. She was moving. Nothing would change in that regard.

“Fine,” Peggy agreed. “But, Jack, you absolutely must call me if it gets bad, alright? That’s non-negotiable.”

Jack laughed, “Yes, Carter, I will. I’ll send the transfer papers to Sousa as soon as I can.”

Peggy hung up the phone and slowly made her way back to the locker room. When she pushed open the door, she saw Daniel sitting on the bench again, and she walked over to him, and sat down.

“Why did you ask to have me transferred,” she asked.

“Do you want the real answer or the good one,” he replied with his eyes cast down.

“The real one, Daniel.”

“I can’t lose you again,” he said, grabbing her hand on the bench between them. “I lost you when I left and I can’t lose you again.”

“Three hours feels like a lifetime,” Peggy said, repeating his words.

Daniel looked up at her. “Peggy, I’m not going to make you stay. That’s your choice, and as painful as it may be, I will always respect your choice. But, I need to know what your choice is before I do something stupid.”

Peggy gazed deeply into his eyes. Heartache. Hope. Despair. And love. A love so strong she could feel it warming her soul. 

She lifted their joined hands and slid closer to him on the bench. She leaned in close and whispered “I’m staying. I promise.” She closed the gap between them and pressed her lips against his.

Daniel, momentarily stunned by what was happening, tangled his hand into her soft, brown hair, and wrapped the other carefully around her waist, pulling her as close as he could.

The kiss was like coming up for fresh air. After drowning for months, they could finally breathe again.

It was soft and slow and filled with the emotion they had both been suppressing since he left for the West.

With one last gentle kiss, Daniel pulled back. Peggy still had her eyes closed and her lipstick was smeared in the corners. She looked as beautiful as she had the day they met.

“I believe it’s your turn,” she said breathlessly, opening her brown eyes.

Daniel, understanding her meaning, stood up and offered her his arm saying, “Peggy, would you care to join me for a drink?”

Peggy stood up and looped her arm through his. “I thought you’d never ask.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my beautiful beta who reminded me that Peggy isn't me. She wears heels, not feels.


End file.
